Topps Big Baseball is a size-enhanced baseball card series that was released by Topps from 1989 to 1991. Measuring 4 inches by 6 inches, the oversized cards were intended to make collecting and displaying baseball cards more appealing at a time when the hobby was declining in popularity. Among collectors today, sealed, unopened packs and boxes of Topps Big Baseball cards remain highly desirable due to their scarcity and nostalgia factor.

When Topps Big Baseball was first issued in 1989, the enlarged card size was meant to attract new collectors, especially younger kids. Compared to the standard 2-1/2 inch by 3-1/2 inch baseball cards that had been the norm since the 1950s, the jumbo Topps Big cards were a bold innovation. Their larger images of players made for an impressive visual effect. Distribution was also adjusted, with Topps Big available primarily in mass merchandisers like Target, Kmart, Walmart and Walgreens rather than just hobby shops and convenience stores.

Despite the flashy presentation, Topps Big Baseball didn’t catch on as quickly as hoped. Card scarcity resulted from retailers often not fully stocking the bulky product, while collectors had mixed reactions to the non-standard size. Some longtime hobbyists weren’t interested in abandoning their penny sleeves and binders full of smaller cardboard. Younger fans, meanwhile, may not have had the discretionary income without parental encouragement. Topps Big lasted three years total before the company shifted its baseball card focus elsewhere.

The set sizes for Topps Big reflected its diminished sale rates versus standard issues. The inaugural 1989 run featured 132 total cards, down from the usual 600+ for a year’s primary Topps flagship set. In 1990 there were only 80 cards in the Topps Big series. For 1991, the final year, just 54 cards were issued before the experiment concluded. Numbers were low in all positions, parallels and chase cards compared to standard size releases from the same seasons.

Now as a nearly 30-year-old product, sealed Topps Big packs and boxes from its short original run have developed quite a cult following. Few product items from the late 20th century baseball card boom went untouched or saved sealed in their original packaging. So unopened Topps Big remains a true survivor piece coveted by both vintage collectors and investors. Demand often outpaces available supply listings when graded examples come up for auction.

Part of the appeal comes from the nostalgia many collectors feel for when the oversized cards first emerged. It represented Topps trying something new during the height of the 1980s-early 90s card bubble. The failed innovation also ties to that bygone era before the industry crashed. Size and visually striking multi-player designs likewise make Topps Big cards stand out from other vintage cardboard in a collectors’ display case or portfolio.

Graded high-end sealed Topps Big sets in particular draw intense bidding wars. In 2020, a PSA 9 gem mint sealed 1989 Topps Big Series 1 box sold for $11,600. A PSA 10 1988 Fleer ProCards box, by comparison, would fetch around $3,000 in similar condition. Single pack valuations also far surpass standard size equivalents from the era. Topps Big sealed wax just hits different for many dedicated vintage collectors.

Sound financial investments factors into to the premium prices as well. Unlike most bulky wax boxes, Topps Big displays and stores neatly thanks to its uniform rectangular shape. Interest has also grown as the baseball card market has rebooted in recent bull market years since the late 2000s recession. Graded 9’s and 10’s from all hobby genres continue appreciating at rates well above standard inflation.

For those hoping to locate a sealed Topps Big pack or box for their collection today, the pickings are exceedingly slim. Beyond scattered individual packs still clinging to pegs in abandoned retail, the only reliable source is the active auction scene. There, true gem mint examples in independent third-party slabs like PSA or BGS will fetch four-figure sums when they surface. Perhaps proving Topps initial size concept wasn’t entirely off-base in foreseeing collectors’ future demand. Without the benefit of sealed vintage at smaller sizes, Topps Big baseball attains cult status among savvy investors and nostalgic fans of 1980s-90s cardboard alike.

In summary, Topps Big Baseball cards hold a unique place in the world of vintage sports collecting. Produced for just three short years at the tail end of the industry boom period, very few boxes and packs survived completely intact and sealed to the present. Those that did have developed tremendous scarcity value and demand. Whether for nostalgia, size intrigue, investing or all three, Topps Big exerts a magnetic pull on collectors three decades later. Their sizable presence remains disproportionate to production numbers in the elite tier of sealed 1980s and early ‘90s wax highly regarded by the vintage community today.